Rochester's interest in cars and in the future they evoke goes back to the dawn of the automobile age.

In 1908 — the same year the ground-breaking Ford Model T was introduced to the public — dealers in the city of Rochester got together to show off their vehicles to a curious public.

These informal shows were the progenitor of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association, which is still active and involved and still putting on a show, which will open Thursday as the Greater Rochester International Auto Show at the Riverside Convention Center on East Main Street.

It will be a four-day show of the latest offerings from the newly robust automobile industry, which has in recent years has added a revived domestic industry to an already strong foreign component. The result will be a broadly representative show, with models from virtually every manufacturer presented for public view.

"Every make sold in Rochester will be on display," said show manager Richard Sherman.

The big draw this year for the car lover may be the Maserati, an iconic luxury sports car whose top end price can reach $150,000. For those who can't afford one, seeing one may be the next best thing.

"Maserati is here this year because Dorschel (Auto Group) is selling them now," said Brad McAreavy, president of the dealers association. The Maserati models are the Ghibil, the Gran Turismo and the Quattroporte.

The 2015 previews will get a lot of looks from the crowd, which is expected to be in the 70,000 to 80,000 range over the four days.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray will be there, and a sneak peek at the 2015 Mustang is featured.

While manufacturers' fuel-efficient, hybrid and other alternative fuel cars will be on display, the emphasis on those anti-gas-guzzlers has lessened this year.

"They're still around and the SmartCar will be on display," McAreavy said. "But with gas prices stabilizing or even going down a bit, people aren't thinking as much about that aspect."

The Rochester car and truck market is coming off a good year, the best in terms of new car sales since well before the recession.

"I was predicting 3 percent to 5 percent increase at the beginning of the year and we hit 10 percent," McAreavy said. "The local market is growing at a good pace."

McAreavy said some of the factors bolstering the local market are lower interest rates, pent-up demand and the improved quality of the vehicles, especially the domestic models.

One of the 2014 questions, McAreavy said, is the growing inventory of cars at dealerships, which could be an indicator of reduced demand. Last year, dealers used incentives to offset rising inventories. Strong incentives could soften the used-car market.

But the auto show will demonstrate, as it is meant to do every year, the upside of the market. No matter how sales are going, people still want to see what automobile designers are coming up with.

"This is undoubtedly our best show ever," Sherman said.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles mobile unit will be on hand during the show to help those car people who may have paperwork issues.

The DMV unit will set up near the entrance and be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

For collectors, the Gull Wing Bricklin SV-1 will be displayed. Only 2,900 of those vehicles were manufactured from 1974 through 1976. The reputed greatest of the Bricklins, the 1974 SV-1, will be there.